Emily Kim 10/7 Readings

I found the theme of revival to be prevalent in this week’s texts. While researching Hideo Furukawa for my presentation, I learned he modernized old texts to preserve history. Similarly, in Scattered All Over the Earth, there is a quote, “Even when an empire sinks to the bottom of the sea,” he said, “it doesn’t disappear from history because it lives on in memory, from generation to generation, and then somebody decides they want to revive it.” The theme of revival is especially important in this story because Japan is being forgotten. But across everything we read, it seems like people only want to preserve things important to them. In The Memory Police, the main character feels zero attachment to birds, but felt very strongly about preserving evidence of her father. On the topic of familiarity, Hiruko in Scattered All Over the Earth compares the earth and the moon with her current home and original home: “Because she knows only life on earth, the moon seems dull and barren, with no grass, flowers, trees, swallows, or cats.” If the moon represents Japan and Earth represents Denmark, she might feel more connected to her new home. Even though she cares about learning more about Japan, she may be more focused on bringing people together through language rather  than defining herself by a specific culture.

In The Little Woods in Fukushima, it was evident to me that Hideo doesn’t like touching on his past. He even put off interviewing his older brother for a long time since he would be facing his past directly. I think the quote, “Something disastrous is more newsworthy and thrilling, but when the thrill crosses the line into actual fear, people’s minds snap shut,” represents his feelings. The events of 2011 were so traumatic that they shut down his mind and he stopped thinking about them. Hideo associates traumatic events that are “newsworthy” with the “non-everyday” or the “non-continuous.” This explains the gaps in his memory, the gaps he avoided filling until interviewing his brother. But he still defines himself “as a child who was raised by forest products, things that come from the trees, the groves, the woods,” even after the Fukushima disaster. The forest was like his sanctuary, so when it was destroyed by the natural disaster, a part of him was destroyed as well. He is still dealing with the aftermath, and says at the end of the story that some things will never be restored, like how his mother will never come back. 

I found a lot of similarities between The Easy Life in Kamusari and The Little Woods in Fukushima. In both stories, the forest and act of writing are the main characters’ source of calmness. Kamusari is known for its forests and the expression “naa-naa,” meaning “take it easy.” This shows that nature symbolizes tranquility. I also found it interesting that in both stories, the narrators are very conversational and speak directly to their reader.